By Teresa Rivas

Insiders like to cash in some profits like any investor, so it’s not surprising that as stocks have soared in recent months, insider selling has taken off as well.

However, insider selling in the technology sector stands out even in this environment, writes the research department at InsiderScore.com: In a new report they detail how tech insiders are selling at the highest levels in more than a year (putting aside the frenzy of selling in the fourth quarter of last year, that was likely fueled by fears of new capital gains taxes).

Of course, it’s usually more difficult to read meaning into selling than buying—insiders generally buy stock when they see it as undervalued, but may sell for any number of reasons, not simply because they see the shares as rich.

Nonetheless, InsiderScore does take a look at some “actionable” moves by insiders—those that investors may want to take note of—at companies including Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), Intel (INTC) and Electronic Arts (EA), among others.

As for Apple, the team notes that much of recent selling was routine, as many employees get a good deal of their compensation via restricted stock vests. However, in referring to a recent sale by Senior VP Phillip Schiller they wrote: “Schiller most likely employed a $500.00 trigger price as his sale occurred at that price and on the first day since his restricted stock vested that the issue achieved that mark. The sale itself is not unusual, but it does mark the first time in two years we’ve seen an AAPL insider use a trigger price.”

They saw the trends at Electronic Arts and Facebook to be a little more troubling. Here’s their take on EA:

At EA, the year started off on a positive with CEO John Riccitiello transacting a significant purchase at $15.90 on February 1. Within days, however, insiders started selling and by late February, they started generating Unusual Events by selling large percentages of their non-option holdings and transacting Early Exercise-and-Sales.

The latter transactions are some of the most troubling that we run across. The vast majority of options have a 10-year life, and the majority of companies we track grant options each year. To see insiders sell long-life options for minimal gains is a negative development, and to see multiple insiders do so is a red flag. We said so in a June 3 Research Brief: Since the beginning of May, insiders at EA have sold more shares (~617K) than they did during the previous two years combined (~552K). More than 60% of the recent shares sold involved options with five years of life or greater until expiration and returns of 45% or less, and that’s what makes the activity most notable.

Selling at EA flared up again in late July following the company’s earnings announcement. This time the action shifted from mostly options to non-options selling.

And here’s the Facebook research:

In late July, shares of FB leapt 30% in one day on the back of a strong earnings/guidance announcement and then quickly tacked on an additional 10% in gains, moving to and above the stock’s $38.00 IPO price for the first time since the issue’s debut. In the midst of these price movements, four insiders – the company’s CFO, CTO, chief accounting officer and general counsel – saw 10b5-1 sales price-triggered. Then, in early August, COO Sheryl Sandberg’s regularly scheduled 10b5-1 sale went off.

However, instead of selling the 176.5K shares she’d be selling every two weeks, Sandberg sold nearly 2.4M shares, or 14% of her holdings: Sandberg’s deviation in behavior did not include a likely trigger price. Instead, she accelerated her selling at the time of her scheduled sale. This suggests that she’s employing minimum price thresholds instead of actual trigger prices (which involve sales going off upon price attainment) as an accelerant. Even if the sales eventually return to a pattern as they did following the one prior acceleration, the deviation is significant.

Check back for more details later this afternoon from the Inside Scoop, which is tackling Intel.

About Tech Trader Daily

Tech Trader Daily is a blog on technology investing written by Barron’s veteran Tiernan Ray. The blog provides news, analysis and original reporting on events important to investors in software, hardware, the Internet, telecommunications and related fields. Comments and tips can be sent to: techtraderdaily@barrons.com.